OH-Gov: Dem candidate Cordray cries foul on ad about time leading CFPB

The Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio, Richard Cordray, has called for state and local TV stations to pull an ad he claims presents false information, according to the Associated Press.

The ad focuses on Cordray's time as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under both former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump.

"The advertisement contains statements for which [Republican Governors Association Right Direction PAC] publicly concedes there is no factual backup; and it makes other false assertions that are contradicted by evidence in the public record," read a cease and desist letter written by Cordray's lawyers.

What does the ad say?

The advertisement targets Cordray's leadership of the polarizing CFPB, an agency created and established by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) during the Obama administration in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

The ad is titled "Cordray Failed," and accuses him of secretly collecting consumers' personal information and not protecting the data from an alleged 200 or more hacks.

Did Cordray address the claims?

Cordray's lawyers said a review by Mick Mulvaney, who succeeded Cordray as director, revealed that the CFPB's systems were secured, allowing the continued collection of consumer data. Mulvaney has, however, said that the CFPB had more than 200 "data security lapses" under Cordray's watch, but didn't specify how severe the breaches were.

As for the accusations that the data collection was secret, Cordray said that was not the case, citing heated public debate over the issue and pointing to an op-ed Cordray wrote about it in American Banker, which said that the data collected was mostly already public.